Congress of Madapar
The Congress of Madapar is a closed diplomatic summit consisting almost entirely of empires whose modern territory includes that of the former Desan Empire, and/or were former slaves of the same. It was created to bring stability to the region during the power vacuum that ensued once the Desan had been annihilated and their conquerors, the Tarak, left the area for good, and so goes back more than 55,000 years. Most of the races that make up the Congress are much older however, and have been starfaring for perhaps 90,000 years at most. This means that many of the Congress' members have witnessed not only Desan conquest and enslavement, but the Great Antimatter Collapse and the Great Plague. The only thing which its members share in common, to varying extents, is their history as conquered territories in the Desan Empire. The summits are held at Madapar, the former Homeworld of the Ancient Madapari, a highly influential ancient race. It is also a very central location, making it more convenient for the far-flung empires to meet in one place. Members and Membership See also: Congress of Madapar Official Statuses The Congress of Madapar brings many dozens of sapient starfaring species together. Enossi The Enossi were one of the last races to be enslaved by the Desan millenia ago. Their homeworld, known to humans as Enoss V, exists at the fringe of the former Desan Empire. In modern times, the Enossi Empire expands much beyond this old frontier. It is one of the foremost powers in the Congress. Ishamshuk Another one of the many Desan conquests and vassals, the Ishamshuk were one of the founding fathers of the Congress, and today remain a very influential for within it, as well as one of its most important powers. The Ishamshuk worship their ancestors, and in the process have come to revere the Desan as near-perfect beings, demigods of sorts, to be emulated by lesser races - including themselves. Caeryso The Caeryso were not originally enslaved by the Desan, and in fact, were totally unknown to them, due to their homeworld being a gas giant's moon with a subsurface ocean. You'd have to look beneath the outer crust to find the Caeryso, and that's just what the Enossi did thousands of years ago. Contact with the Enossi radically - and negatively - affected Caeryso civilization, and so the Enossi took responsibility and uplifted the Caeryso into a starfaring species. As close allies of a Congress power, they were eventually allowed to join it. Hrodu Once, the Hrodu put up a valiant defense against a Desan imperial force sent by the Triple Alliance to conquer them. Despite these efforts, the Hrodu, like all others, fell before the overwhelming force of the Triple Alliance's military. The Hrodu are a minor, secondary influence within the Congress. Anztalo The Anztalo were one of the first victims of Desan rule, attacked by the Triple Alliance not long after the conclusion of the Martian Civil War and the First Reassertion Wars which followed. The traumatic experience of having been slaves of the Desan for so long and so chaotic a period has shattered Anztalo civilization into paranoia and borderline extremism. Today, the Anztalo focus on counter-spinward expansion, away from the territories of the Congress, and encroaching on that of the Periscan Empire, maintaining a (quiet) voice in the Congress only to keep their flanks secure. Eirlatu The Eirlatu were rapidly enveloped by the Triple Alliance, and quickly signed on to the Congress once any other major power had left the region. Alppati The Alppati were rapidly enveloped by the Triple Alliance, and quickly signed on to the Congress once any other major power had left the region. Lansri The Lansri's homeworld and small Stellar Empire changed hands between various larger empires for centuries if not millenia until Desan conquerors came and ruled over the Lansri for the next few thousand years. Once the Desan fell apart, the Tarak offered the Lansri membership in the Sanhakas Federation as a junior partner, an offer the Lansri refused, as they were happy to be finally free of foreign rule. The Tarak allowed the Lansri to live in peace. Later, they joined the Congress of Madapar to afford themselves the benefits of friendship and protection that otherwise a ruler may provide. Human The Humans are the most recent addition to the Congress. They are notable in that humans control Mars, the old Desan homeworld, and the former center of their vast empire. Despite what might be considered a highly prestigious free pass to join the Congress, the humans were blocked from attending the summits for just under two centuries, for a myriad of reasons. For one, humans were not ever slaves of the Desan, and had no context of the experience. In addition, the humans were enemies of the aforementioned Ishamshuk empire, whose strong presence in the Congress allowed them to control others' opinions of humans, souring human interstellar relations even though many of its members barely knew anything at all about Earth or its inhabitants, nor had seen or interacted with a human. The earliest campaigns of the Alliance War, however, led the Congress to consider and approve human entry so long as they agreed to the Resolutions. Leadership 'Leadership' of the Congress refers to the empire whose ambassador at Madapar holds the position of statesman. The statesman controls the flow of the summits, what topics are discussed, and through diplomatic influence can decide how much (or how little) supporting evidence is shown in cases or in resolving crises. In this way, for example, an Ishamshuk statesman can drive each summit under his tenure to focus on Ishamshuk-centric issues and views, while glossing over those of the other races until they get their turn. The statesman position alternates between the Congress' members every six years. Throughout the 55,000+ year history of the Congress, every one of its races have been bestowed the honor of Statesman hundreds of times. Although the Ishamshuk Empire is far more powerful than most other members, its statesman has no more power than that of the humble Eirlatu or Alppati - at least on paper. Resolutions and Agreements Over its many years of activity the Congress has come to agree to enforce the rules of several important Resolutions. Madapar Resolution 1: No Quarter for the Uhara The Congress maintains the Desan tradition of attacking Uhara Starships and colonies on sight, with zero toleration for Uhara encroachment on any member's territory. No one is allowed to even speak with the Uhara or give them any sort of warnings. This policy reflects the Uhara Invasion of ancient times. Ironically, this Resolution is ignored most by the Ishamshuk, who have regular dealings with the Uhara. Most other Congress powers rarely, if ever, have to deal with Uhara encroachment. Madapar Resolution 2: Constrict the Flow of Commerce Trade is to be tightly regulated and controlled, especially when it comes to trade with alien species, and even more so when dealing with those who are not members of the Congress - something which is on paper illegal but in practice often happens except where explicitly prohibited. This is to prevent another situation like that which the Great Plague started. If a member race has a pandemic break out, they are to be quarantined by the other members and embargoed. This resolution is considered by many to be overly paranoid and old-fashioned, and in many cases is ignored. Madapar Resolution 3: On Bio-Warfare Also a reflection of the Great Plague, members of the Congress agree never to develop biological weapons of any kind, and are only allowed to research the topic so as to know how to better counter them should they appear. Any power which attempts to develop or is successful in developing such weapons will face a combined fleet of warships from every member race. A notable occurrence of MR3 being called is the Human Domain's intervention against Innovaganix during the Containment War on the side of the coalition, in order to prevent the large-scale weaponization of the Spades virus. Madapar Resolution 4: Embargo the Maghua The Maghua, masters of organic manipulation and biology, scare the pants off the member races. It is a popular belief that the Maghua have the most potent bio-weaponry in the universe and could obliterate any civilization they desire at will. Rather than risk trading with the Maghua (trade being the major motivator for Maghua stellar exploration), the member races have all agreed to completely embargo the Maghua and drive their trade missions off whenever possible. Humans, to this day, continue to break MR4 by trading with the Maghua very often, in secret. Madapar Resolution 5: Isolate the Periscani A policy advocated by the Anztalo millenia ago, it encourages (and later, enforces) that member races embargo the Periscani and refuse to make any sort of deals (IE alliances, mining rights, military access, etc) in order to diplomatically isolate the Periscani.